Characterizing Viral Load Burden Among HIV-Infected Women Around the Time of Delivery: Findings From Four Tertiary Obstetric Units in Gauteng, South Africa.

Background: Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV requires sustained viral load suppression during pregnancy and breastfeeding among women living with HIV (WLHIV). Antenatal antiretroviral therapy coverage is reported at >95% in South Africa, but viral load suppression rates are unknown. We describe maternal VL burden around time of delivery at 4 tertiary obstetric units (TOUs) in Gauteng Province.

Early infant diagnosis HIV-1 PCR cycle-threshold predicts infant viral load at birth.

Background: HIV-1 viral load (VL) has been found to be an independent predictor for disease progression among untreated HIV-infected children. However, qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are routinely used for early infant diagnosis (EID).

Objectives: To predict HIV-1 VL at birth using qualitative EID real-time PCR cycle-threshold (Ct) values.